


Thin Walls

by merycula (thanksillpass)



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, M/M, kagakuromonth2014
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-24 17:09:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2589554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanksillpass/pseuds/merycula
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was kind of terrifying, the complete lack of privacy – knowing they could hear each other walk around the apartment was disconcerting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thin Walls

Taiga wasn’t expecting much of the place – it was the first apartment his dad wasn’t paying for and it was  _meant_  to be shabby and cheap. It didn’t matter that his bed was practically in his kitchen or that he had to shower at work because he was too tall and bulky for his own bathroom. It was enough for now, and he wasn’t going to start his independent life by complaining.

The only actual problem was that the walls in the building were ridiculously thin. It wasn’t that his next-door neighbor was particularly loud and Kagami could hear him having sex or something. From what he could tell, the guy didn’t even have a girlfriend – just a few obnoxious friends who always visited separately, which was nothing unusual considering how small the apartments were.

In general, Kuroko was quiet as a mouse and almost unnoticeable. Taiga had only realized how thin the walls were when he started cursing after stumping his toe the day he moved in, and he heard his neighbor chuckle softly and ask if he was alright. It was kind of terrifying, the complete lack of privacy – knowing they could hear each other  _walk_  around the apartment was disconcerting.

Kagami took a liking to Kuroko quite fast. He was always polite and never intrusive, listened to good music but never played it too loudly, went to bed at reasonable hours, and was even considerate enough not to comment when Taiga forgot himself and started singing while cooking. Considering the circumstances, Kuroko was the perfect neighbor.

Their first meeting was awkward, with Kuroko knocking on his door and presenting him with a bottle of soy sauce after Kagami kept grumbling to himself about being unable to find his. Slightly embarrassed, Taiga invited him in and that was how they started having breakfasts together – he couldn’t let a perfectly nice person to die from eating too much junk food.

“Kagami-kun is an angel,” decided Kuroko immediately. “I am going to keep you.”

Taiga blushed and mumbled something unintelligible in response to Kuroko’s playful straightforwardness. His neighbor must have appreciated the reaction because the flirting continued from then on, much to Kagami’s terror. He wasn’t good at this kind of thing and could never determine how serious the other person was, especially someone as unexpressive as Kuroko.

Soon, the meals weren’t the only things they did shared – they shopped together, played basketball from time to time, sometimes even went out for drinks on the weekends. Kuroko was good, comfortable company, even though he tended to startle the living shit out of Taiga and constantly complained about being unable to keep a dog in the apartment.

Gradually, naturally, he started feeling drawn to Kuroko – to his elegant and quiet demeanor, to his perplexing eyes and odd sense of humor, even the stories he brought from his part-time job at the kindergarten. Before he knew it, he had developed a rather hopeless crush that caused him nothing but frustration; he couldn’t even jerk off out of fear he would be heard.

“Are you asleep, Kagami-kun?” he heard over the wall. “I wanted to apologize for my friend. He tends to overshare.”

Taiga blushed involuntarily, remembering the worst three minutes of his life during which he couldn’t find his headphones and was forced to listen to Kise talk about his sex life, explicitly.

“It’s fine,” he blurted out. “I put on headphones in, like, two seconds flat.”

“They do come in handy,” admitted Kuroko with a soft hum. “Please, do let me know if you want me to wear them. When you need some privacy, that is.”

Kagami spluttered indignantly, his face getting hot. “What are you saying?! Why do you always have to be so embarrassing? Can we not talk about these things? Ever? Please?”

“As you wish, Kagami-kun,” agreed Kuroko with a chuckle. “Well then. Good night.”

“Night…”

Of course, he couldn’t sleep. He kept tossing and turning, listening in on Kuroko’s soft snores to make sure he didn’t wake him. As if he would ever talk to Kuroko about  _that_  – about the cold showers and that one time he used Tatsuya’s bathroom and couldn’t look his friend in the eye for a week. As if he would ask when Kuroko dealt with it. Did he even do it at all? Kagami had never heard him talk about anything sex-related, so maybe he just wasn’t interested in that.

He probably wouldn’t mind, he was so into deep, and it was even more depressing. He supposed he should make a move at some point, or at the very least, test the waters in some way, but he was scared – of rejection, of things changing between them – so he kept quiet, day after day. Kuroko was hard to read and it was kind of intimidating for someone as simple and thickheaded as Kagami, who often needed certain things pointed out or explained.

“I won’t be home tonight,” announced Kuroko over breakfast one Saturday. “Please use the night off wisely.”

Taiga choked. “Are you trying to kill me, bastard?!”

“Of course not. Who would feed me then?”

Kagami rolled his eyes, wiping his mouth. “I’m sure you’d find another sucker.”

“Your lack of faith in the integrity of my affection wounds me, Kagami-kun.”

“Your fancy words this early in the morning wound  _me,_ ” mocked Taiga grumpily, hiding his blush behind the coffee mug. “Big hot date?”

Asking that seemed like a good idea at the time – finally approaching the subject – but Kagami regretted it almost immediately after the words left his mouth. Kuroko was staring at him blankly, his jaw set in a hard line, and didn’t reply for a long moment. At this point in their relationship, Taiga knew it was Kuroko’s angry face. He swallowed thickly, putting his mug down and opening his mouth to say something, when Kuroko rose to his feet suddenly.

“Thank you for the meal, Kagami-kun,” he deadpanned. “Please, excuse me.”

“What? Kuroko, wait! What did I say?!”

The only reply was the loud sound of the door being slammed shut. Too shocked to react, Kagami listened to Kuroko walk down the stairs, instead of going back to his apartment. He cursed under his breath, knocking his coffee over when he got up. He wanted to scream while he was cleaning up, but it was ingrained into him to keep as quiet as possible at this point, so he just hissed and growled, hoping it would be enough to vent his confusion and frustration.

Kuroko kept his words and didn’t come back home that night, not that Taiga was in any mood to use the opportunity in any way. He didn’t step by for breakfast either, and Kagami was at the verge of contacting Momoi, who was one of Kuroko’s closest friends, and certainly the most protective. Of course, he quickly realized he had neither any reason nor right to do that, and decided to go out and play basketball to take his mind off things.

It was oddly silent without Kuroko on the court with him, despite his neighbor never being the one to talk much, and the silence was distracting enough to mess Taiga’s rhythm so he went back sooner than he planned. He could hear Kuroko over the wall, playing his music a bit louder than usual, and even Kagami could take a hint like that. He managed to shower himself with minimal physical damage and when he got out, Kuroko was talking to someone.

“No, I can’t do that. I thought I was clear enough, but apparently, I was wrong. Yes. Well, he obviously thinks I’m uninterested, judging by our conversation yesterday. No. That would be embarrassing, Aomine-kun. Not to mention very risky. Excuse me?  _That’s_  insane. And crude. I’m hanging up. Yes? Please. Kagami-kun is not- Oh. Oh no.”

The last part would be Kuroko’s immediate reaction to the loud crash that resulted from Kagami tripping over his own legs upon hearing his own name. He cursed under his breath when he heard footsteps, scrambling to get up and lock the door before Kuroko barged in. He was too late and the only thing he could do was to fix the towel around his waist as Kuroko appeared on his doorstep. Taiga stared, blushing under Kuroko’s shameless scrutiny.

“I didn’t meant to eavesdrop,” he blurted out.

“I know that,” replied Kuroko levelly, closing the door being himself. “Pardon the intrusion. I believe we should… discuss our relationship, now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag.”

Kagami shook his head jerkily, instantly mirroring Kuroko’s blush. “No, we really don’t, I-”

“I like you, Kagami-kun. Please go out with me.”

Taiga spluttered, forgetting to be mortified. “What is this, high school?! Why are do you have to be so embarrassing?!”

“Would you rather I forcefully kissed you? Would that be less embarrassing? More romantic, perhaps? Passionate.”

“God, stop talking!” wailed Taiga, hiding his face in his hands for the briefest moment before he felt the towel slip off and had to hold it. “I hate you…”

“Is that your answer, Kagami-kun?”

“Obviously not, idiot! I- I l-like you too. Why do you make me say these things?”

The smile that Kuroko offered him turned Kagami’s knees to jelly and he felt like crying. He willed himself not to jerk back when Kuroko took a step forwards and braced himself for the inevitable, as if he wasn’t anticipating it, wanting it. Kuroko was silent as he hand crept up Taiga’s forearm, making him shudder and his eyes to flutter shut. He felt exposed, and not only because he was physically half-naked, but because he felt Kuroko’s heated gaze on him.

“I’m making you say this, Kagami-kun, because I want to be sure, finally. These past few months were… frustrating, to say the least. I expect an apology.”

“S-sorry,” stammered Taiga reflexively, making Kuroko chuckle. “I take it back, asshole!”

“Kagami-kun.”

Kagami snapped head down to finally look at Kuroko. He could tell that Kuroko was in equal amounts impatient and tentative, not because it was clearly visible on his face, but because that was how Taiga himself felt. Shakily, he licked his lips, watching Kuroko’s eyes darken as the dropped to Kagami’s mouth. He leaned down slightly, waiting for Kuroko to make the final move and close the gap between them, but Kuroko wasn’t having any of this.

“Kiss me, Kagami-kun,” he demanded, so Taiga did. 


End file.
